A Pirates Life for Me
by adriadewinter
Summary: AU Sleeping Warrior Fic. Mulan is an up and coming pirate and Aurora is a stately princess renowned for her beauty and grace until fate crashes the two together. NOTE: Just the prologue so far


**Author's Note: **This is the beginning of what I plan to make into a longer fic eventually. Not really sure when because school is about to start and I have three long fics I'm working on already. But it should be really fun, and I hope you all like it. I will probably not update this for a while.

**Summary: **Captain Jones rescues a little girl from the wreckage of a burning ship on a search for treasure. Simultaneously Queen Briar Rose explains to her daughter that she is now betrothed to Prince Phillip.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters from ONCE.

**Prologue**

_Midnight off the coast of Hong Kong_

Captain Killian Jones gazed out through the fog looking for the ship of his soon to be partner, Captain Sao Feng. They were to meet here before sailing to Singapore to capture the silk and gems shipment that was going to be sailing in caravan towards Japan. This particular raid was essential to his career; at seventeen, he was the youngest pirate captain ever, and he felt the men testing his command day by day. If he planned to stay in command, it needed to be a success.

The ship glided through the still waters slowly as the darkness and fog prevented anything more than a few meters in front of the bow from being visible. As the ship nosed forward, Killian began to see bits and fragments of wood hit the sides of the ship and he waved the crew forward. Moments later, a half-burnt wreck of a Chinese warship was visible and the crew sprang into action as Jones barked out commands. "Prepare the longboats! Get over to the ship and bring over the survivors and any treasure you can find. Search the wreckage for any signs of life or value. Well? GET MOVING, you lazy scum!"

He himself entered the lead longboat as the men began to search the pieces of the ship floating around them. When they arrived on the ship, the men spread out and their captain descended into the cabins below. He kicked down the door of the captain's cabin and entered. Calling out for his men when he saw the heaps of gold and silk, Jones proceeded forward through the next door to the bed chamber. He instantly recognized the hangings on the wall as belonging to Sao Feng, and he began to rummage through the belongings.

The men arrived and began carting the gold out. His second in command, Smee saluted as he stepped forwards. "Captain Jones, sir, we've searched the ship. There are no survivors and the fire is reaching the gunpowder left in the hold. We only have a few more minutes until it blows up."

"Excellent. Have the men remove whatever they can carry into the longboats and then we will leave." Hook was about to leave the room when he heard a cry from a corner of the cabin. Wrapped in the silks, a young girl was struggling with the crewmen, fighting fiercely to get away. "Don't touch her!" Jones stepped over to the young girl who looked up at him with frightened eyes. "Who are you, and what are you doing on this ship?"

"This is my ship! I am Mulan, daughter of Sao Feng, which makes me this ship's rightful owner. Now return to me my goods!" She struggled to get away, but Killian pulled her up over his shoulder and took her with him to the longboats. The crew followed suit and left the ship, boats laden with loot stolen from Sao Feng's vessel. Mulan continued to struggle when they reached the deck, but turned to cry in the captain's arms when they saw it blow up.

Killian was unsure of what to do with the girl now, did he think her father were yet alive, he would have returned her to him, but to all appearances, Sao Feng was now dead. While he was still considering his options, the crew approached him and Smee spoke for them all.

"Sir, we…the crew and I would prefer if she not remain on board. Women are unlucky and on such a crucial mission, we cannot risk having her aboard."

Captain Jones looked at the men as he stood in front of the girl. She was growling at the men now and the young man made his decision. "She's not unlucky, men. She is the only survivor of a horrible wreck, and she's brought us a shipload of treasure we didn't even have to work for. She stays. Anyone who wants to challenge that can fight me. Anyone?"

The men stepped back, all fearing to face the man who had proved early on to be a better swordsman than any of them. They mumbled a little bit, but returned to their posts and the ship sailed away.

Turning around to face Mulan, Killian kneeled in front of the girl. "Well, darling, how would you feel about being a pirate co-captain with me?"

She snuffled and wiped her nose before nodding. "Do I get to play with your sword? And get fancy clothing?"

Hook laughed heartily. "Aye that you do, lass! And I'll teach you how to handle swords of your own in a few years too. You're going to be one of the fiercest pirates ever, now let's get you some dinner." He turned to his first mate, "Smee! Prepare a cabin for our new crewmember next to mine, and see if you can find her some clothes in the booty we recovered. Oh and get us some dinner."

"But sir, she can't be more than eight years old, and the only cabin next to yours is mine. Can't she, um share?"

"Of course not! Well if that's the only cabin near mine, I guess you'll have to move out. Get going and hurry up with the food!"

The girl looked up at Jones and shook his belt to get his attention. "What do I call you, sir? You aren't my father…"

He smiled down at her and messed up her hair, which she whipped back, annoyed. "Well, darling, my name is Killian Jones, but most people call me by my title, Captain." He thought of the little girl he'd left crying in his mother's arms as the sailors had dragged him away when he was just a little boy. "But you can call me brother. How does that sound, Mulan?"

"That sounds good… brother." She smiled up at him for the first time that night, and sat down at his desk to look at the maps there and eat. He examined them with her pointing out where they were and where they were going, and when she fell asleep, head on the table, he carried her into Smee's old cabin and put her in the bed.

"Welcome aboard, little pirate."

Midday, a castle in England

"Aurora! Get back inside. If you stay out in the garden in this rain, you're going to get sick. Please come back in." Queen Briar Rose called out to her little daughter as she ran through the gardens. She was pausing to smell each and every one even as she dodged the three maids that were chasing her. The little girl, despite being only six was already the terror of the palace and her mother's personal headache. The maids finally caught up with her and carried her kicking and screaming back inside.

"But Mummy, I want to go back outside and smell the flowers! The birds are singing so beautifully and I want to hear them. Mummy, please?" Aurora dropped to her knees and gave her mother doe-like eyes as she lifted her hands in a praying motion to her mother.

"My dear, you can go back outside when the rain stops. You'll get sick if you go out now, but I promise, I'll take you walking tomorrow morning if it stops. Besides, you have to go talk to Prince Phillip. His parents brought him here especially to see you, and remember you're betrothed to him, so you need to be nice." Aurora scowled at this and stomped her little foot.

"I don't want to go visit the prince! And I don't want to be betrothed. I just want to run around the woods and ride horses. Mummy, can't we tell him to go away? He's boring and doesn't like the flowers I showed him." She frowned and pouted, but her mother just took her hand and led her upstairs to change.

Aurora took every opportunity she could to drag her feet on the journey up to her room, catching on tapestries, doors, and even the occasional suits of armor, but eventually her mother got her into her room. The Queen ordered a bath drawn for her child, and together with two other maids, they eventually washed the still struggling girl. Once she had been dried, which was a struggle in and of itself as she continued to dive back into the tub if they ever let her go.

Once she was dried off, she resignedly walked into her bedroom and put on the dress they had laid out for her. It was her typical pink color, the one that the midwives present at her birth had recommended as her "strong" color, when Aurora lifted her head and looked at her mother. "Can I wear purple instead, Mummy? I am tired of pink, and I just got a pretty purple one?" Her mother seemed reluctant to change, looking back and forth from the dress to the wardrobe that contained the other dresses. Aurora thought for a minute until an idea hit her and she gave a winning smile to her mother. "I think Phillip said it was his favorite color…"

At this her mother laughed and threw the dress on the bed before walking over to the wardrobe. "You really are learning early aren't you, Aurora? Very well, for being clever you can wear the purple dress tonight." Aurora clapped her hands at this and for the first time ever, did not struggle when the maids attempted to dress her.

Briar Rose sat down on the bed and looked sadly at her daughter as her hair was done. She was so young to have all of this pressure on her, but her father and her had had no choice. "Aurora, can you listen to me for a minute?"

"Yes, Mummy?"

"I know you don't want to talk to Phillip, but you must for father and I. We owe Phillip's parents a great deal after the wars we had to fight, and you were betrothed to Phillip to ensure that we had allies on our side. Do you understand?"

"Not really, Mummy. Why does that mean I have to be nice to him?"

The queen sighed, not really sure how to explain the complexities of politics to her young daughter. "To put it simply, if you aren't nice to Prince Phillip, his parents might take our home away. You have to begin to learn how to behave in court now and be a proper young lady. I'm sorry you have to grow up so fast, but you are our only hope to save the kingdom. Do you understand now?"

Aurora squinted her eyes and tipped her head to the side slowly before nodding. "I have to be nice to Phillip and learn how to behave in court? Then I get to learn hao to be a queen like you? Yay! Does this mean I get to stay up and talk with guests with you and Father?"

She clapped her hands and her mother nodded, a tear dripping down her face at how eager her only child was to grow up. "Yes, yes it does. And I'll teach you everything you need to know to become a good princess just like I was." Aurora nodded and took her mother's hand as they walked over to the stairs to meet Phillip, Aurora's future husband.


End file.
